Tales of ALfheim: Keeper of the Spirit Wolf
by M.A. Tailheart
Summary: After losing her younger sister to Sword Art Online, 19 year old Ash finds herself once again caught up in the world of virtual reality when she discovers ALfheim Online. Starting a new life within the nerve gear as a Cait Sith named Tally, she forms an unusual friendship with a legendary wolf spirit and together the two of them embark on an unforgettable journey.
1. Prologue

-Prolouge-

Surrounded. They'd been ambushed on the sixty second floor by a mob of cave trolls. They'd been careless. Set off a trap. The dreaded feeling of desperation and hopelessness grips Ash's heart as she realizes there is no escape. They'd been stupid to try and clear all the floors without the aid of a guild. The two of them had been living off sheer luck. And now their luck had run out. Ash watched as her health bar dropped to an alarming yellow and continued to inch away with every blow. "Liv this is impossible! We'll never make it!" she screamed as she blocked another attack. "Don't talk! Just kill!" Liv shouted, hacking at another troll. Ash could feel the last bit of her energy seep from her body. She dropped the tip of her sword to the ground panting, "I…. I can't. I can't go on. I can't do it!" Liv whirled around, smashing another troll to bits. "You have to Ash! You don't have a choice! We've got to keep going or-"

"Liv, watch out!"

…..

Time slows as Liv's HP bar dwindles from yellow to red to zero. Her eyes widen and she cries a silent scream. One of the trolls had struck the final blow while her back was turned. Ash reaches out to her sister, trying to grasp her hand. Liv trembles as she begins to fall. And then her body bursts into tiny shards of blue and float into nothingness. Ash stands staring at her empty hands while her younger sister disappears into thin air.

"Liv…. Liv….! NOOOOOOOOOOO!"


	2. Chapter 1: ALfheim Online

Ash gasped and opened her eyes. Covered in cold sweat she shivered, realizing she'd just had another nightmare. Liv's death played over and over again in her mind. It'd plagued her every night for the past six months. She couldn't help but feel that her sister's death had been her fault. If she'd only kept on fighting. If she hadn't stopped, Liv might still be alive. The thought brought tears to her eyes. She forced them back and rolled out of bed. It was seven thirty on a Monday morning and if she didn't hurry she'd be late for school. However, unlike most teens that'd been trapped in SAO, Ash had no interest in going back to school. She didn't try to make friends and she dreaded the mandatory therapy sessions all the SAO "victims" were required to take.

It was the same thing all around the world. Communities had gotten together and created makeshift schools for the youth that'd been trapped in SAO for the past two years. They'd said it was a way to "rehabilitate" them and "make everything as normal as possible." To Ash, it was anything but normal. Going to school was a foreign concept to her. She felt that she'd be more productive working on her archery skills and swordsmanship than reading from textbooks. Nevertheless, everyone else at school seemed perfectly content.

After braiding her long brown hair and slipping into a hooded t-shirt, Ash quietly made her way out the door, careful not to wake her father. The walk to the community building was a short one. There were only about 73 local kids who'd played Sword Art Online when the incident happened. The community building was big enough to pose as a school for those who'd been trapped. Despite skipping breakfast and a shower, Ash still managed to be a few minutes late. Silently she slid into the seat closest to the door, hoping to go unnoticed as the teacher lectured about algebraic equations. As she pulled out her notebook she overheard someone talking in the row beside her.

"Hey, did you hear? They've just come out with a new Nerve Gear program called ALfheim Online," Ash stopped breathing. She immediately turned to the two boys sitting beside her. "Yeah I heard it's a lot like SAO, only y'know not a death trap. I also heard there's a function that allows you to fly! I've been saving up like crazy." Ash gripped her pencil until the wood began to split. The nerve of them. As if SAO wasn't enough proof that Nerve Gear consoles were nothing but trouble. "You're insane," she hissed. The two boys turned to her, puzzled. "People _died_ playing Sword Art. _You_ could have died. Why would you want to even look at a Nerve Gear console again?"

"ALfheim is distributed by a different company and that Akihiko Kayaba is long gone. You can't just give up on virtual reality because of one head case." Ash wasn't convinced. SAO had taken her sister's life in an instant. Why would people who'd lived through the trauma she had want to risk going through that again? "I mean," the boy said softly, "It'd be kind of like nothing ever changed. We could still have our lives in the virtual world without all the risks." Ash contemplated this. She did feel out of place in the real world. It was as if someone had knocked her askew and she was struggling to balance herself out again. Maybe ALfheim wasn't such a bad idea after all.

As the day dragged on the idea of slipping on the nerve gear again became less and less frightening. At 3:15 Ash found herself walking towards the strip mall in town. She ended up standing in front of the display window of the local gaming merchant. Large display screens advertized for ALfheim Online. In game footage and smiling faces challenged her from behind the glass. Without thinking, Ash pulled out the money she'd been saving from her part time job. She had just enough to buy ALfheim. Five minutes later, she was walking home with it in her hands. "What the hell am I doing," she asked herself. Feeling defeated, Ash traipsed home wondering what exactly she'd gotten herself into.


	3. Chapter 2: Becoming Tally

The house was empty when Ash returned home. Her father had already left for work like he did every day. Ash was used to being alone now that Liv was gone. Her mother had left the two of them with their father when Liv was only three. She'd found herself another man who did things other than work and sleep. Ash knew her father did his best, but she wished that sometimes he'd take a few days off to spend time with her. Though even if he did, she wasn't sure what they'd do or even talk about. With a sigh, Ash threw her backpack down on her bed and had a seat at her desk. The Nerve Gear had already begun to collect dust. She hadn't touched or even looked at it since returning to the real world. It reminded her too much of her sister.

"_Oh. My. God. Liv! We've gotta get it!" Ash squealed, her face pressed up to the window. Sword Art Online and Nerve Gear technology was the biggest thing to hit the shelves in a long time. Ash could hardly wait to get the Nerve Gear in her hands. Her entire life, she'd been searching for an escape from reality. She wanted a chance to live her dreams and now her dream was sitting behind the glass window of the Gamer's Stop shop. "I don't know, Ash. It's gotta be super expensive," Liv muttered, staring longingly at the Sword Art Online posters. "Become the hero you were born to be…." Ash read aloud, "That'd be worth every penny." Liv pondered this then smiled, "You're right. Besides, together the two of us could be unstoppable. I bet we could beat it no problem!"_

Ash wiped a tear from her cheek. It'd seemed like decades since she'd seen Liv so happy, without the fear of death looming in her eyes. Although she was only 15 when she died, Ash often felt as if her younger sister was much older. Liv had grown hard. Cold. She'd built walls around herself even Ash couldn't break through. Sword Art changed her drastically, so much that she felt as if the old Liv had died the moment they realized SAO was a death trap they couldn't escape from. With tears in her eyes, Ash plugged in the Nerve Gear and began the process of downloading ALfheim.

10%...40%...60%...80%...100%

She made sure her bedroom door was locked before taking the Nerve Gear in her hands. The gray plastic felt cold and foreign in her hands. She settled herself into a comfortable position on her bed and watched as the "ready" light blinked green. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes as she placed the helmet over her head and settled down on her pillow. She stared at the ceiling for a minute, knowing it may be the last thing she saw before entering the new world. She breathed slow through her mouth before uttering….

"Link… start."

The Nerve Gear then came to life. The usual icons appeared indicating all connections were working properly before Ash set the language to English. "Welcome to ALfheim Online," a female voice announced. Ash looked around only to find she was in a small room, much like the one she'd been in when registering for SAO. This made her uneasy. "Please enter your player username at this time." A transparent keyboard appeared before her. She suddenly realized she hadn't given much thought into a username. In SAO she'd simply gone by her real name. Slowly she typed: A…s…h…..

She stared down at her name. She was Ash in SAO. She was Ashlee in real life. Why should she be Ash in ALfheim? What was stopping her from being someone new completely? Quickly she deleted Ash and typed in a new name. She'd always admired it. It was the name of the hero in one of her favorite book series.

T….a….l….l…y….

'Is the username 'Tally' ok?'

'Yes'

"There are nine races of ALfheim. Please choose which one you wish to play as."

Ash looked up as a rotating circle of characters appeared above her. Each one had their own distinct traits. The Sylph was clad in green and looked quite whimsical while the Salamander looked tough with red armor and a large sword. Suddenly one caught Ash's eye. It was a girl with cat ears and a tail. "A Cait Sith, huh?" Ash remembered how much Liv adored cats. Without any further hesitation, she tapped the select button.

"You have chosen Cait Sith. Do you wish to continue?"

'Yes'

"You will now be transported to your hometown in Cait Sith territory. Good Luck!"


End file.
